Page 106 of Reaching Avery
He’d spiked his hair a bit and had two red streaks of paint going down the left side of his face. And his costume… yeah, it wasn’t the best idea for my pants to be so stretchy. His chest piece hugged him just right and the cut off shirt showed off his amazing, muscular arms.
“I wish I had a camera,” Mom said, looking between the two of us.
“You can take a pic with my phone,” Maverick suggested, pulling his phone from his back pocket. “And I can have it printed off and give it to you.”
After he showed her how to work it, he pulled me against his side and we posed for a few pics. In the first one, I smiled but I knew how forced and awkward it was. That changed when Mav made a snorting sound in my ear and tickled my sides, getting me to laugh. He always managed to do that to me. And even crazier was that he’d known what I needed in ordertolet my guard down a little.
He knew me—the real me. Maybelovewasn’t too farfetched of a notion.
Mom smiled as she took a few more, and then she lowered the phone before handing it back to Maverick. “Okay, you two. Don’t let me hold you up any longer.”
Once Mav and I were outside, he grinned. “You look freaking sexy. I’ve always had a thing for Loki. Well, more so Tom HiddlestonasLoki.”
“Should I be jealous?” I asked as he opened my door for me.
“Eh… no.” He shrugged. “I mean, unless we’re allowed to have one celebrity pass.” He shut my door, and I watched him walk around to his side of the car. Once he was inside and had the engine started, he quirked a brow. “I bet yours would be Andy, huh?”
I smiled and looked away. “Shut up.”
He laughed, and the deep rumbling sound went straight to my heart.
The drive was long, but nice. The party location was out in the middle of nowhere, just like Noah had said, and we passed by a lot of wooded areas, fields, and the occasional opening of trees that revealed the Oregon coast.
Maverick had his phone plugged into the radio, playing one of his Spotify playlists. It was a good mix of rock bands likeI Prevail,Our Last Night,Silverstein, andChevelle. Our music tastes were similar, but not exact. However, I found myself liking his bands too.
When he tried to do one of the screamo parts in anI Prevailsong, I busted a gut.
“I’d like to see you do better,” he said with a challenge in his voice.
So, I did.
“Whatever,” was all he said before focusing ahead on the narrow, two lane road. But the corner of his mouth lifted.
When we arrived at the party and I saw all the cars already there, nerves ran rampant inside me. People I recognized walked in groups toward the building, all dressed in wacky outfits. There were also quite a few people I didn’t recognize, which meant they were probably college kids.
Great.
When Noah had said his brother found anold barnto have the party in, I had pictured one of those from the horror movies that were wooden with chipped, red paint and one of those openings at the top for the hay loft or whatever. Maybe one that had a huge, rickety door and looked like it was close to falling apart.
In reality, it looked like a rich person’s idea of a barn. No chipped paint, no rotted wood. It was fancy to the extreme. For one, it was stone and not wood, and the stonework was incredible. A high arch was in the center of it, and the building extended out a ways on each side. Therewasa large door, but it looked to be made of mahogany wood instead of the deteriorating one I’d imagined.
And that was just the outside.
“You ready?” Maverick asked me once he parked and shut off the car.
“I think so,” I answered, staring at all the people walking through the arched entrance. “Were you picturing something out of theTexas Chainsaw Massacretoo?”
He laughed and got out. After grabbing my headpiece from the backseat, I opened the door and met him around the front of the car.
“Allow me,” he said, grabbing the horned crown and placing it on my head. He tucked a piece of hair behind my ears before trailing his fingers down my cheek and along my jaw.
My skin tingled at his touch, and I leaned into his hand, peering up into his blue eyes.
He kissed me then—just a soft press of his lips to mine, but it was enough to help wash away the anxiety bubbling inside my chest.
As if knowing I needed the support, Mav held my hand as we approached the entrance.
Some people stood outside, drinking out of red plastic cups and talking. I saw a few Draculas, one Harley Quinn, someone in a blowup chicken costume, a Mad Hatter, and a few pirates. The doors to the inside were open, so people could just come and go as they pleased. The weather was amazing that night, only like sixty degrees, so I thought it was a great idea to open the place up.
